ADU rules in Reading

Reading's zoning chapter has no accessory dwelling unit category, and two general provisions close the detached path outright. Section 600-1001F, which governs every accessory use and structure in the city, states that human habitation in accessory buildings is prohibited, and section 600-902D bars converting an accessory building into a dwelling unit unless the chapter specifically allows it, which it never does. Section 600-902C separately limits a lot to one dwelling unit unless the chapter specifically allows two or more. The one accessory building Reading lets a homeowner build with a second story is a private garage, and section 600-1002B allows that second story to be used only for household storage; garages and carports are capped at 600 square feet in every residential district. Because section 600-608A prohibits any use not listed in a district's use schedule, and no schedule lists a detached accessory dwelling, there is no zone in Reading where one is allowed.

Chapter 600 does define an accessory apartment in section 600-2202 as one dwelling unit created within part of a principal dwelling or above a vehicle garage on a residential lot, but that phrase appears exactly once in the entire 234 section chapter, in the definitions, and no district schedule in Part 8 or Part 10 lists it as a permitted by right, accessory, special exception, or conditional use. Under section 600-608A a use not listed in a district schedule is prohibited there, so the definition is an orphan with no operative effect. Reading then bans the conversion route by name: section 600-803C (R-2), section 600-804C(4) (R-3), and section 600-1203D each provide that the conversion of an existing one-family detached, attached, or semidetached dwelling into two or more dwelling units shall be prohibited. The dwelling unit definition in section 600-2202 reinforces this by allowing only one kitchen per unit unless a second kitchen was lawful before the 2010 chapter took effect.

The 600, 280, and 25 square foot figures are the accessory use limits written into the R-1A, R-1, R-2, and R-3 district schedules; they are storage and shelter allowances, not habitable space. Section 600-1002 adds that a private garage may not exceed 25 feet in height, may not exceed one story except that a second story may be used for household storage, and must meet principal building setbacks if it exceeds 600 square feet of floor area. No square footage standard for a dwelling in an accessory building exists anywhere, because none is permitted. For context on what a legal added unit would have to be, the conversion schedule in section 600-1203D(2) sets minimum unit floor areas of 550 square feet for one bedroom, 700 for two, and 850 for three or more, and disallows efficiencies entirely.

Not reached: because Reading authorizes no accessory dwelling unit, no owner occupancy condition attaches to one, and Chapter 600 imposes no owner occupancy requirement on any residential use. Section 600-902F instead limits each dwelling unit to occupancy by one household meeting the chapter's definition of family, which caps unrelated occupants at three. Two adjacent rules exist and are easy to mistake for an ADU owner occupancy test: section 308-102 requires owners of residential and mixed-use parcels to obtain and renew a city housing registration, excusing owner-occupied single-family properties that confirm owner occupancy, and section 600-1108B(1) requires a short-term rental's record owner or designated manager to reside or keep an office within 30 miles of the unit.

Read from the residential uses rows of the off-street parking schedule in section 600-1603A(31). Section 600-902B adds that off-street parking must be provided for the total of all uses on a lot, so any added unit would carry its own requirement. A full rewrite of Part 16, Bill No. 38-2026, was introduced 5-26-2026 and would replace this schedule with a new Table 1603-A; it remained tabled pending further amendment on the 7-27-2026 Council agenda and is not law, and its draft table likewise contains no accessory dwelling unit row.

There is no ADU permit path to classify. A zoning permit is required before creating a new use or increasing the number of dwelling units on a property (section 600-301A(2)(a)[3] and [7]), but the Zoning Administrator may issue a by-right permit only for a use shown as permitted in the applicable district (section 600-301B(1) and section 600-602), and no district schedule lists an accessory apartment. Special exception and conditional use permits are likewise unavailable because neither list includes an accessory dwelling. The only theoretical route is a use variance from the Zoning Hearing Board under section 600-406D, which requires proof of unnecessary hardship, a discretionary and rarely granted remedy rather than a permit type.

Chapter 308 requires owners of residential and mixed-use parcels to obtain and annually renew a housing registration, with owner-occupied single-family properties excluded but required to confirm owner occupancy, and a Berks County responsible local agent where the owner lives more than 25 miles away. Short-term rentals were regulated for the first time by Ord. No. 58-2025 of 10-13-2025, which added section 600-1108: an STR is permitted by right as an accessory use in the C-C, C-R, C-N and C-H districts and by special exception in R-3 only. It must occupy a conforming one-family dwelling at least 1,000 feet from another STR in R-3 (500 feet in the commercial districts) or a conforming apartment unit, capped at 20 percent of the units in buildings of 10 or more. Occupancy is limited to two persons per bedroom and 12 overnight guests, at least one off-street space is required, subletting is prohibited, and a zoning permit with a supplemental use and occupancy agreement is required.